McGrady, Rockets outduel Boozer, Jazz

McGrady collected 31 points and 10 rebounds and Yao Ming added
27 and nine as the Rockets held off Boozer and the Jazz with a
98-90 victory in Game Two of their first-round series.

Chuck Hayes added 12 points and 12 rebounds for Houston, which
took a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series by sweeping their
two home games. Game Three will be in Utah on Thursday.

"You have to be feeling good being up 2-0," Rockets guard Rafer
Alston said. "But you don't feel good because we haven't shot
well. You're going into a whole different atmosphere (in Utah)
and they're a great home team."

Boozer scored just 11 points on 4-of-17 shooting in his first
career postseason contest in Game One on Saturday. But he got
the hang of the playoffs in his second game, scoring 41 points
on 17-of-30 shooting.

"I definitely had the playoff jitters (on Saturday)," Boozer
said. "Maybe, I was too excited. Today I tried to treat it
like a regular-season game. We've got to have guys stay
aggressive, stay confident when they are shooting the ball."

"(Boozer) hasn't played in the playoffs, and hopefully our team
will be better as we go along," Yao said.

Boozer went right at Yao.

"My shots just kept going in," Boozer said. "I took it upon
myself to be more aggressive. I felt like I let my team down in
Game One. I wanted to give my team a lift. Yao's a big guy,
eight-foot tall and has a big impact on the game, offensively
and defensively. I tried to get him a little winded."

However, McGrady, who has been maligned for his postseason
shortcomings, continued to march toward his first playoff series
win.

"Being in the playoffs in the past, I was just happy to get
there," McGrady said. "I didn't think we had the talent (in
Orlando) to advance. Right now, I feel extremely good about our
chances. I've been up 3-1, 2-0, not having home-court
advantage."

The superstar swingman managed just one point in the first half
in the series opener but netted 22, including 16 in the third
quarter, in the second half of that contest.

It carried over to Monday's game for the former scoring
champion, who shot 9-of-29 from the field, hit the glass hard
and dished out five assists. But despite a poor shooting night,
McGrady connected on a crucial jumper down the stretch.

After leading for most of the fourth quarter, two straight
buckets by Boozer cut the Jazz deficit to 90-84 with 1:18 left.
On the ensuing possession, McGrady halted Utah's momentum,
rising over Jazz guard Gordan Giricek to bury a tough fadeaway,
making it 92-84 with 57 seconds left.

"They did a great job of getting up in us (defensively), putting
pressure on us," McGrady said. "I don't think we were ready
for that. They played extremely hard for 48 minutes.

"If the shots are not falling, I try to get to the free-throw
line. We've got to keep taking those same shots. I'm a rhythm
shooter. If I hit one or two, from that point on I don't think
I'm going to miss."

Yao shot 9-of-24 from the field and 9-of-9 from the free-throw
line, and Hayes was 5-of-5 from the floor and grabbed seven
offensive rebounds for the Rockets, who shot just 36 percent
(30-of-83) but nailed 34-of-38 foul shots.

"In the playoffs, you cannot have any mistakes," Yao said. "One
possession can change the whole series. We can't give up any
runs in the fourth quarter. We shared the ball well (tonight).
I'm surprised we got 17 second shots. That's a big key why we
stayed in the game."

Deron Williams collected 15 points, seven rebounds and seven
assists for the Jazz, who shot 45 percent (38-of-84), including
1-of-9 from the arc.

"I thought our guys played their hearts out," Utah coach Jerry
Sloan said. "We are going to have to be better to beat this
team. We know that. When there is such a disparity in free
throws, it is very difficult. I forget what the free throws
were, but that is one of the things that hurt us.

"We're trying to stay in the ballgame, and they're going to
free-throw line a great deal. One of the things they did very
well that hurt us was their offensive rebounding."